Victorian Drama

This is the Drama Room in the Carleton community centre in Pontefract, West Riding of Yorkshire. If you've time read on...

I was there yesterday at a day of photographic lectures - two speakers. One was good, if slightly predictable.

The other was absolutely brilliant. He spoke for two and a half hours - non-stop and the time just flew. He has works in the Smithsonian (US), the National Museum of Media (UK), The Victoria and Albert Museum, and so on. His works were so much more than the images (which were superb nevertheless) - several projects recording the demise of traditional industries (mines, foundries, mills, even sewage treatment plants). Told from the perspective of the workers. Very sobering stories of asset stripping and human hardship. But told with so much sensitivity and humour.

The link with this image? Well, the community centre is attached to this magnificent Victorian mansion. So much ornate woodcarving, plasterwork, stained glass and so on. I sneaked into this part of the building and was just about getting in my stride, when I was chucked out by the caretaker!

OK, here's the crunch. The thing I like most about Pontefract - "Historic Market Town" - is the fact that the Victorians ripped down the medieval castle in order to build mansions like this!

Today? They've ripped the old Pontefract Infirmary down (yes, it did need modernising) and replaced it with a Private Finance Inititiative glitzy thing that community will be paying for to financial fat cats for generations. Go figure...